MILITARY DEFENCES AND THREAT PERCEPTIONS IN NINETEENTH CENTURY SINGAPORE, 1854-1891

Abstract

This Academic Exercise catalogues threat perceptions which triggered knee-jerk responses in Singapore's defences during the nineteenth century and shows that factors which crippled the defences of Singapore included interservice rivalry, inter-departmental politicking, individual back-stabbing and plain gross incompetency at the highest levels within the British military and civil services. There was a persistent neglect, for basic military considerations like security and manpower that bordered on the criminal. The Introduction gives the background to defense works and plans until 1854, and shows that in the first forty years of the colony's existence it had very little defence. Chapter 1 covers the first main fort building effort in the 1850s which was designed (o protect mainly the town. The forts were a complete joke. The next Chapter shows the behind-the-scene struggles in reappraising Singapore's defences in the 1860s. The defences were not improved because of a lack of clear strategic direction, disputes over costs and widely differing opinions. Chapter 3 shows how the knee-jerk responses and rivalry were at its peak during late-1870s till 1891. This impeded dramatically the effectiveness of the defence. The forts' primary objective was now the defence of New Harbour.